Before the season started, those in the know in college football had Alabama and Clemson as automatics to make this years College Football Playoff. Virtually no one I have seen had Oklahoma football as one of the other two teams.
Perhaps some opinions will change now that the college football world has seen that the Sooners appear to be just fine — and perhaps even better, heaven forbid — without Baker Mayfield dancing in and out pressure and completing passes all over the field.
Those who were quick to write off or downgrade the new-look Oklahoma Sooners post-Mayfield conveniently overlooked the fact that the Heisman-winning quarterback had a boatload of weapons around him, and nearly 80 percent of that offensive firepower is back with a year’s more experience.
Florida Atlantic, Oklahoma’s season-opening opponent is no cream cake. The Owls won 11 games last season and the Conference USA championship under first-year head coach Lane Kiffin. Kiffin spent three seasons as offensive coordinator at Alabama and before that was head coach at Tennessee, USC and the NFL Oakland Raiders.
One of FAU’s three 2017 losses was by 17 points at then-No. 9 Wisconsin.
The Owls are clearly not of the same caliber talent-wise of Oklahoma, but most experts thought they would challenge the Sooners more than they did on Saturday.
Oklahoma Sooners Football
Oklahoma was favored by 21 points, but doubled that amount, winning by a 49-point margin. Kiffin credited Oklahoma with playing an outstanding game in his postgame press conference, but also remarked that his team played about as bad as it can play.
"“Obviously, we didn’t score until the second half, which is ridiculous,” Kiffin said. “We gave up 650 yards, which is ridiculous, and we gave up a score on special teams. So we hit the trifecta today.”"
Kiffin, who has seen quite a bit of outstanding football in his well-traveled time as a college coach, had these words of caution to all those who are doubting this Oklahoma team:
"“I’d be shocked it there is a better team in the country. Their defense is much improved, and obviously that was their area of weakness a year ago. I’d be shocked if that team isn’t playing in the Playoffs.”"
While pleased with the victory and the way his team performed in its opening game of 2018, Sooner head coach Lincoln Riley doesn’t want to make much more of the win than what it is: one game and a 1-0 start.
"“It’s a long, long season, and this is a great start — nothing more than that, nothing less than that.”"
Whether Riley wants to make any more of it or not, that is his wise prerogative, but a couple of ESPN college football reporters have taken note.
All season long, a group of four ESPN reporters will be making and updating their College Football Playoff predictions after each weekend’s games. After Week 1 of the 2018 season, Alabama and Clemson, both with impressive weekend wins of their own, made the list on all four ballots. Notre Dame, which posted a huge opening-game win over Michigan, is listed as a Playoff team on three of the ballots.
Oklahoma holds down the No. 3 spot in Andrea Adelson’s four Playoff teams after Week 1, and the Sooners are listed No. 4 by Edward Aschoff.
It’s a wonderful feeling to know some folks in the know feel that strongly about the Sooner football this early in the season. Let’s just hope that same sentiment exists when the CFP selection committee issues its final Playoff rankings the first weekend in December.